At
2902 feet, West Mountain is the highest point in the Pigeon Lake Wilderness
of the Adirondacks. The trailhead is located nearby from Brown Tract Pond Campground,
along dirt Uncas Road. The trailhead can be tough to locate. The GPS
coordinates are N43 49.009 W74 40.341 for those who have a GPS devise.

The hike to the summit of West Mountain
is a long five miles one way according to the sign at the trailhead. This
is a long ten mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of over
1130 feet with most of the gain during the last mile.A fire tower at one time stood on the summit
of West Mountain. With the fire tower gone, the views are
limited although a nice narrow view of Raquette Lake can be seen
from near the summit.

If your looking for solitude, then this hike
is for you as you probably won't see any other person on the trail.
If your looking for an easy hike, then stay away from West Mountain.
This long hike will take you into a remote section of the
Adirondacks and then a steep climb up West Mountain. Be prepared on
this adventure.

West Mountain trailhead along Uncas Road

The blue marked West Mountain Trail starts
off dirt Uncas Road, where there is parking for just a couple of
cars along the side of the road. The trail passes by a
register then skirts along the edge of Wadsworth Mountain and then
over the shoulder of a smaller hill.

At 1.4 miles the trail joins the Sucker Brook
Bay Trail as both trails follow an old road as it crosses Beaver
Brook. At 2.2 miles the West Mountain Trail turns left as the
Sucker Brook Bay Trail heads straight 400 feet to the shore of Raquette Lake at the head of Sucker Brook Bay. There is a nice
view of the north part of the lake here. A nice side trip and
a great place to take a break.

Back on the West Mountain Trail, at 3.0 miles the trail crosses Sucker Brook. At
3.6 miles the trail crosses Stillman Brook. At 4.0 miles the
ascent becomes steeper as you are now climbing West Mountain.

The steep climb is along a broad trail and
soon you are walking on bedrock. The trail reaches a clearing at
4.9 miles with the former observer's cabin foundation. One
last short steep climb takes you to the summit at 5.0 miles.
The West Mountain Trail ends at the summit, where a view to the southeast features Raquette Lake.

At the end of the trail is the junction of
the Constable Pond Trail, which travels eight miles to Higby Road near
Big Moose Lake, traveling through even more remote sections of the
Pigeon Lake Wilderness. Look below for a trail map of the West
Mountain Trail.